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Friday, December 27, 2013

Three
months ago, I lost my foster sister, Sienna, to the darkness. As in
blood magic and chaos and general mayhem. No one saw it until it was too
late, but I should have. Now, I have a wounded heart and soul that I
can’t even reveal to anyone around me, because I’m supposed to hate
Sienna with the fiery passion of the justified. And I do. I just wish I
didn’t feel so lost without her, so unsure of the path I thought I had
carved for myself, and so outclassed by the powerful Adepts constantly
by my side these days. I’m not even sure if they’re with me for my own
protection or because my shiny new powers are rare and valuable.
Assuming I ever figure out who or what I am, and how my magic actually
works.
Even chocolate can’t save the day every time … just most of the time. At least I’ve got that going for me.

Meghan
Ciana Doidge is an award-winning writer based out of Vancouver, British
Columbia, Canada. She has a penchant for bloody love stories,
superheroes, and the supernatural. She also has a thing for chocolate,
potatoes, and sock yarn.

Monday, December 23, 2013

The day Iris Beaumont turns seventeen, she is threatened to be taken
by the Beasts, the rulers of the new America. After the destruction of
the world, the Beasts provide citizens with whatever they need in
exchange for the one teenage girl they enslave every week. They call
them the Brides, and they never comes back. Iris isn’t the worrying type
though; she’s been defying the system since she was ten and never cared
for the Beast’s rules.

Then she meets Colton Ray, who is not like any other boy she’s ever
seen. His confidence and dominance are otherworldly she can’t
rationalize the attraction she feels for him. Colton had one slight
problem though. It’s rumored he is one of the Beast, and Iris could be
the next on the Beast’s list.

The
girls watched Eva Washington plod to her death. She shuffled barefoot on the
red carpet, hardly breathing against the fear inhabiting her lungs. The tensed
muscles in her face wrinkled the features of her adolescent beauty. Iris
watched the sticky tears in Eva's eyes thicken, and probably blur her
destination to the Beasts' glowing spaceship.

Although
the sun showed no empathy, still splaying its bright rays upon the scene, the
Beasts' spaceship shone an even brighter light toward her. It had always been
this way. Iris thought it was ironic how the Beasts hid behind the glaring
light. Instead of wearing metal armors or using the latest hologram
technologies, they hid behind a light brighter than the sun.

"Someone
should help her," Iris mumbled, Zoe still standing next to her.
"Eva's crying so hard, she can't see."

"My
mother says that it's better to die before staring in the eyes of the
Beast." Zoe commented, not taking her eyes off Eva.

None
of the girls were allowed to talk in the Ceremony of the Beast. They stood on
both sides of the red carpet leading to the ship, silently witnessing one of their
own being sacrificed. The ceremony was a reminder for other girls, a torturing
memory. Iris always wondered how the Beasts selected their Brides. Was it some
kind of lottery? Did they follow a list with names? A prophecy maybe? Or did
they choose the most beautiful? Iris was sure it wasn't the latter option. Last
time, the girl wasn't as beautiful as Eva. Not even close. But who knew what
beauty looked like in the eyes of the Beast?

Eva
was still walking toward the Beasts' ship. She wasn't permitted a stop of any
kind. Every reluctant step Eva took closer, the girls on both sides did their
best to silence their screams. Some of them wiped the trickling teardrops from
their ripe cheeks. The punishment of sympathizing with the Bride was as
horrible as Eva's inevitable fate. To the Beasts, this was a happy day, which
led many to think the Beasts actually married the Brides. A disturbing suggestion, Iris had always thought.

A
sudden cloud blocked the grinning sunlight, shading Eva's wedding dress with a
gray stain. The chosen girls had to wear expensive, designer wedding dresses to
meet the majestic Beasts. Like any normal wedding, each girl wore their best
make up and had their hair styled.It
was a painful process, being groomed while knowing one's horrible fate. No one
could protest. It was the Law of the Beasts.

All
girls were given a beautiful bouquet of roses, which were either synthetic or
polyester, but smelled like real roses. For some reason, most things in The
Second were artificial. The roses, as well as the grass in the local park, were
as dead as the high metallic skyscrapers.

Eva
wiped the tears from her eyes and began throwing random gazes toward the girls
on both sides. This was the same girl who was probably going to be the Prom
Queen, the same girl that everyone envied in school, Colton’s girlfriend. Now her gaze was
shattered, like splintered glass across the girls faces. She'd meet your eyes,
but you'd think she wasn’t even there. She became hollow, a fading portrait,
soon to disappear in the Beasts' light. And it wasn't funny. Even though Eva
hadn't been kind to the average girls like Iris and Zoe, none of the girls
loved to see her as a Bride. Any of them could be in her shoes next week.

For
a moment, Iris thought Eva was looking for Colton. Boys weren't supposed to stand in the
front rows. Only the second and third. The ceremony was a girls’ thing. There
was nothing for the human boys to do here.

But
each Bride had a father, a brother, or a boyfriend whose heart burned for her.
But not even the strongest men in The Second defied the Beasts.

Empowered
by wishful thinking, Eva stole a last glance into her phone, which she had been
holding with shivering hands. She looked like she wished it hadn't been her ID
showing on the screen. It was clearly hers.

"How
could you be so cruel to me?" she snapped, talking to the ship's blinding
light, still walking forward. "I was about to go to college next year. I
was going to be engaged to Colton Ray next month!"

A
number of girls let out short sighs. This was news to everyone. So their
relationship was serious. Iris could feel Zoe's blaming eyes on her skin.

"What?"
Iris fisted an angry hand. She wasn't going to hit Zoe.She wanted to hit herself, for saying such a
thing. The mere thought of her wish coming true was puzzling. "It's not
like I'm a witch or something," she grumbled.

"We
planned to get married while in college," Eva continued, shouting at the
light. That silent light that told her what to do, but never talked back to
her. "We've been planning to have two children; a boy named Jeremiah, and
a girl named Flower."

Iris
held a tear from being born in her eyes. No girl had talked to the Beasts this
way before. Most of them sank to their knees, and pleaded that someone would
help them and confront the Beasts. Some cried and fainted halfway through,
until elders had to carry them as close as possible to the ship. And some
prayed like in a chapel, brainwashed that this was their fate, and that they
died as a sacrifice for the other girls to live--Iris wanted to kick-box those
into the light.

But
none of them had spoken in such an emotional way like Eva did.Her words reminded everyone that someone's
life and dreams were being killed today. The problem was that most elders
thought of the Call of the Beasts like natural disasters. Earthquakes,
hurricanes, and plane crashes. Stuff like that happened all the time. And the
Beasts, who ruled their world, must have a wisdom behind it.

Iris,
unusually vulnerable, pulled out Zoe's phone and took another peek. The screen
didn't show Eva's name. The Beasts didn't believe in human names. It read:
Beauty 57135LL; Eva's citizenship identification number in the United States
of The Second.

The
horn roared again, buzzing into each girl’s bones. Instead of an answer to her
question, the unseen Beasts were urging Eva to step closer toward her death.
The silliest thought crossed Iris's mind. What if she just ran into the ship and
at least peeked in, to see what they looked like? If they had the right to take
one of them, didn't they have the right to know who they were?

Before
disappearing into the light, Eva took one last glance at the girls. She waved a
weakened goodbye as the girls lowered their chins to their chest and laced
their hands together. It was as if Eva, the school's queen bee, had turned into
a contagious epidemic they preferred to avoid. Many girls were teary-eyed
though. But most of them were glad they hadn’t been the one walking the red
carpet.

Out
of respect, Iris didn't lower her eyes. It was the least she could do. She was
still fisting her hand, mad at herself for not standing up for Eva. It wasn't
just the guilt moving her, but the fact that she could simply be next. Why
wasn't anyone doing anything about it?

In
an unexpected moment, Eva caught Iris's eyes, and nodded back, as if they had
been lifelong friends and were now girl-coding each other. Iris glanced behind
her for a second, not sure Eva meant her. Everyone else had their heads bowed
to their chest. It was Iris Eva meant. Not only that. Eva mouthed something to
Iris, something that gave her goosebumps on her skin, as Eva disappeared behind
the light of the ship. Her darkest hour.

A
second later, Iris caught sight of Colton
standing second row on the other side. His blue eyes had turned into puddles of
blurry tears. In front of him, girls raised their heads, most of them glad this
was over. The ship's drone was deafening as it howled back up toward the sky.

Iris
couldn't take her eyes off Colton,
wondering if she should tell him what Eva mouthed to her. Who'd have thought
that the queen bee, who treated her like shit, would ask this of her?

AUTHOR BIO

Wonderlander,
Neverlander, Unicorn-chaser, enchanter, musician, survived a coma,
& totally awesome. Sometimes I tell stories. Always luv the little
monsters. I write young adult paranormal romance, urban fantasy, and
science fiction mostly. The Grimm Diaries series is a seven book saga
that deals with retellings of fairy tales from a young adult POV - it
connects most of the fairy tales together and claims to be the truth
about fairy tales. I live in San Fransisco and seriously think
circles are way cooler than triangles.

Friday, December 20, 2013

A madman with a mission is kidnapping groups of
thrill-seeking high school seniors across the country, and it’s up to
Christy to stop him.

To do so, she must take on a fearless alter
ego and infiltrate a group of adrenaline junkies bent on pushing life to
the limit. Death-defying stunts are only the beginning: two groups fit
the profile, and Christy must discover the real target before it’s too
late.

If she chooses the wrong group, more people will disappear.
But choosing right puts her as the prime target—with no guarantee
that she’ll get out alive.

Cindy M. Hogan graduated
with a secondary education teaching degree and enjoys spending time with
unpredictable teenagers. More than anything she loves the time she has
with her own teenage daughters and wishes she could freeze them at this
fun age. If she's not reading or writing, you'll find her snuggled up
with the love of her life watching a great movie or planning their next
party. She loves to bake, garden and be outdoors doing a myriad of
activities.Author links:

Adrenaline Rush is an adrenaline rush of its own from the very beginning. From the first pages, the reader is thrown into a reality of high-action, high-suspense thrills. This novel captivates from the initial scene and continues to enthrall until the final page.

The plot of Adrenaline Rush is unique and thrilling. I couldn't wait to turn the page and see what would happen next. I've always loved spy novels (or novels that involve any covert or undercover operations at all, really) and it's beautifully done in Adrenaline Rush. The high-concept action that surrounds the entire story was refreshing and I could not get enough of it.

Christy (or should I call her Misha?) is a great female protagonist, especially to connect with, the kind of character that readers would want to look up to. I really enjoyed her perspective, especially with the life that she's had. Christy has an excellent story behind her which really adds to the reading experience.

The only downside of Adrenaline Rush is the fact that it's one of those novels that has an unreal abundance of attractive male characters. I mean, come on, is there something in the water over there? I'm really to buy a one-way ticket into town. Adrenaline Rush takes the attractive bad boy to the next level.

Not to mention, I give major props for the character names. Pretty much everyone has a really cool name in this novel. Everyone. The writer-me is extremely jealous.

I really enjoyed Adrenaline Rush and all of the action and relationships involved within it. I completely devoured the novel and really had a great experience with it. I can highly recommend it to others.

Friday, December 13, 2013

Luke’s life is about to take a dangerous turn.But first he has to die.

In the year 2052, high school sophomore Luke
Gibson considers himself an average teenager in a world on the brink of
monumental change. Joining his parents and sister, Laura, at the first World
Energy Initiative Conference, he is among thousands gathered in a Denver arena
to celebrate free renewable energy when a massive earthquake strikes killing
everyone in the stadium. The last thing Luke sees before his death is a girl
reaching out to him—a stranger whose face he remembers from his dreams.

The end, however, is not the end. Suddenly,
inexplicably, Luke is back home in Ohio and everything is different. His sister
is gone, the victim in an unsolved homicide years before. Angela, his
mysterious dream girl, is here also, and the only person besides Luke who
recalls the previous reality. And now their determination to uncover the truth
about Laura’s murder and their transformed world is making them targets—forced
to flee for their lives from a nameless shadow organization and a government
seeking vengeance for an unthinkable act of terror—as they stand on the
threshold of a dark conspiracy that threatens all humankind.

With
Platform 21, a brilliantly inventive and unrelentingly exciting excursion to a
troubled near-future, author T.R. Patrick joins the ranks of Suzanne Collins
(The Hunger Games), Veronica Roth (Divergent), Pittacus Lore (I Am Number Four)
and other masters of YA speculative suspense fiction. The first book in the
“Beyond the Veil” series, Platform 21 follows teenager Luke Gibson up to and
beyond his death in a horrific terrorist attack in Denver in the year 2052.
Reawakening in a world strangely transformed, Luke sets out to uncover the
truth about his new reality—joining forces with Angela, a girl he had seen
previously in his dreams, in a desperate race for survival that will propel
them across the threshold of an insidious global conspiracy that threatens the
future of all humanity.

From the very beginning, I was completely blown away by Platform 21. The book is absolutely unique, in a wonderful way. I can't really think of much I did not like about the novel. Normally, I'm not a fan of actual people featured on the cover, but even that worked well.

I really enjoyed the parallels that could be found in Platform 21 and our own lives today. Despite the fact that the novel is set decades in the future, and is a work of fiction, the world that Patrick creates seems completely real. I was captured by the story from the energy hype on page one, and soon felt to be an actual part of the story.

Platform 21 has a large amount of twists and suspense that will keep the reader at the edges of their seat and yearning to find out what will happen next. I instantly connected to the situation and wanted to learn everything about it.

Luke is an excellent protagonist. Despite being poetic - understandable, as he is a writer - he still manages to have the voice of an actual teenager. He definitely is not one of those characters that annoys the reader so intensely it distracts them from the reading experience. I thought he was incredibly well crafted, and allows for further connection into the world of the story.

When reading, I could not easily get what was going to happen next, which really allowed me to unravel the plot with the same pacing as the characters, which I really enjoy. Another bonus is that there is a heck of a lot of plot to unravel.

Platform 21 is an addicting read, guaranteed to impress. Between the political themes, ongoing mystery and conspiracy, excellent characters and beautiful writing, I just could not put it down. I highly recommend this read, and I can't wait to continue with this author's work.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Author Timothy R. Patrick, born in 1985, started writing when
he was only nine, delivering his first short story to his Mom for her birthday.
Since then, writing has been an incredible passion. Every chance he could
write, he took it. He even scratched out a few stories in Naval Boot Camp at
Great Lakes, Illinois.

Tim spent four years in the Navy achieving the
rank of Petty Officer 2nd class. He served three years aboard USS Chosin and
was deployed twice in support of the Global War on Terror, and Iraqi Freedom.
However, he would always be remembered as the guy who sat in the corner of the
mess decks writing a book he would never release. He said it wasn't good
enough.

After his time in the Navy, Tim became a Test
Engineer working for companies like Scientific Research Corporation and Hewlett
Packard. During this phase of his life he moved to Charleston, South Carolina
where he bought a home and tried to settle into the American Dream. But Tim
wasn't content with that, he wanted to do something more than work the 9 to 5.
So, he tried his hand at politics and ran for Dorchester County Council as an
Independent. They said he was too young and verbose. After losing the election,
he decided to try his hand at writing instead.

Today, Timothy Patrick is the author of,
Platform 21 - the first installment of the "Beyond the Veil" series.
Platform 21 is a novel set in the near future which follows a young man on a
journey to solve his sister's murder in the midst of global conspiracy. His
current project is, The Vorago Initiative - which picks up right where Platform
21 left off.